Down the F350 6.0 rabbit hole

Ok. I bought a 2003 from the original owner (coworker) a few years back, with 133K miles nearly trouble free miles on it. 
I am very aware that the 6.0 earned it's bad rep, but not all were/are time bombs. I know a few high is mile 6.0s without problems. Granted, they are almost all stock, as is this. 
We are up to 148K. 
Still zero problem that would be specific to 6.0. 
injectors and new FICM around 99K, to cure a rough cold idle. He said once it warmed up, it ran fine all day, till next morning. Not sure which it needed... did both for peace of mind. 
I had starter solenoid get intermittent (when did ferd follow a bad chebby design, and put them at a hot spot on starter, instead of fender, where they belong? Different rant), and no rebuild kit exists, and is not solid separate  So, new starter (not rebuilt. 
I recently

Needed a new fuel pump 2 weeks ago. New vacuum lines to front hubs. 
So far, so good

On the way home from GA, few days after getting truck back from shop, and starting and running good, it did a stumble. Then few hrs later, no start (no fuel) but after hr troubleshooting, an hr wate, it started. Couple "poor idle" for a couple seconds since then, but never failed to start. 

Ready to order some parts, from bench racing troubleshooting, but got it on a proper diagnostic computer today (shop who's personal touch is an 03 FX4 6.0 VERY built)

Passed ever test with flying colors. Including driving around town for errands, with numerous stops. 
 

I THINK I just burped some air through the system a few times, one inconvenient, and might be ok now. I hope. 
He did have a bully dog power pup he no longer needs, so he gave me that, put the lowest hp "tow" tune in. It also reads trouble codes live on data logger, so if it ever does fail to start, I'll know why. 

Finally (sorry!) we get to the rabbit hole!

I always said I would not "tune" this truck till after something (silly oil cooler or poor design egr) failed, and we did the whole job of studs etc. 

But this mechanic (we met as friends, and he's a fella junk nut) assures me this mild tune, or even on max with this canned tune will not stress the engine, as gently as I drive. He has ridden with me, and I freely admit to driving like an old fuddy duddy these days. ("How fast can ya afford to go?"   Not very!)

Now I'm looking into monitors, and the 6.0 info is very dated. He says it will defies itself with me monitoring anything, but like most of y'all, I like actual data from gauges, even if they are through an OBDII compatible screen!

Whats the best monitor, for lower end money? obd2 dongle + old phone or tablet? Or a specific device?

Tuners on 6.0 powerstrokes are the cause of most of the problems. 

In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :

Oh, yea. 'Specially when the average type that wants 'em, is gonna beat 'em. To death. Literally. 
But is that the tuners fault?

And some canned tunes are better than others. But everyone's opinion on the "bad" ones all all over the place!

This tune has a much smoother idle (should be a good thing) and a much smoother as well as quieter mid range acceleration. Ought to be easier on the engine, if I keep my foot out of it. 
hope I'm not over (or under?) thinkin' that
20 yr ago, was NOT gonna happen. Today, I can do that.

Driving around today, I could tell I almost always was using lees pedal, to do everything I do, driving 'round here. 
Of course, I did stand on it a few times, and wow! Impressive. But now, don't need to do that again!

In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :

Also, ford will never admit it, but an engineer I know that works up there )not a diesel guy, so it wasn't him!) mentioned that, due to machining faults, many heads were built at the ragged edge of tolerance. Yet sent em out. If ya got one of those heads, guarantied to have problems. Some got good head/block surfaces, and will take a lot more. Past history shows mine is a good one. 
still gotta worry about cooler/egr problems, which will cause a head to lift. 

I think the 6.0 is the best deal out there if you just have to have a diesel truck.  Literally every single problem has been documented thousands of times and there is still tons of support.  I'm going from memory on this but doesn't the variable geometry mechanism on the turbo tend to get stuck due to people who drive like grandpa?  I believe I read or heard that that needs to be exercised frequently so you might want to mat it from time to time.  Counterintuitive I know.  
 

Also, the 5R100 (or is it 110?) transmission behind it is one of the best.  
 

Interestingly IH's own in-house 6.0 (called something else DT360, 366...? something like that) ran millions upon millions of miles with hardly an issue.  There were some differences but not major architecture differences.  Big one though was tune.  All the IH engines were tuned much more mildly than even the stock Ford pickup.  Same story for the MaxxForce 6.4.  Excellent engine in medium duty trucks and busses.  Steaming pile of junk in a Ford pickup.

I use a ScanGauge in my 6.0 and usually monitor EOT (engine oil temp), WT (coolant/water temp), TFT (trans fluid temp), FICMV (FICM voltage). I can also see IPR and ICP if I'm troubleshooting or any other reason. I like that I can easily move it to my 7.3 if I need it there. 
 

I did some research a while back about the International VT365 and from what I can tell the main reason they last longer than the 6.0 is lower max rpm and lower boost. Pretty much a more conservative tune. For that reason alone I decided to leave mine stock since I tow 8k+ in the mountains probably 50% of the time. 
 

Fun fact about the VT365 (6.0): the B50 life of the engine is 375,000 miles where the B50 life of the 7.3 diesel and 6bt Cummins is only 350,000 miles. 

In reply to A 401 CJ :

All good points, and meshes with my knowledge so far. 
Great stuff!

 I had forgotten the sticky turbo point...and am fortunate it has not attacked me yet... I'm the poster child. Thanks for the reminder. 

The only reason the tuner is on it now is for the code reader... over kill, but it was free! And I found with the 7.3s I've had, a smother running engine, is a happy engine - if if it does nothing else. If I get a bit of +mpg, so much the better. 

In reply to WillG80 :

Thanks!

I gentleman on here gave me a scan gauge II with a wonky display (I still owe him for shipping, but lost track of who it was) and is ok in the Merc. Proves the guess - o - number in dash is very accurate for average mpg. 
But my f350 doesn't mesh with it. 

Interested to hear what the Bully Dog does for you. On our 7.3 E450 the Tow Tune got us a 14% mpg increase.

My neighbor has a "deleted and fixed" 6.0 in his 4x4 rollback. Started as a stock 6.0 when he bought it. He has a strong tune and beats the E36 M3 out of it doing beach recovery. Even as a long time chevy guy, he's really happy with that drivetrain. Now, ask him about the factory rust proofing...

I had a 2006 f250, by the time it was stolen it was well over 200k miles. It was more reliable than my similar mileage 7.3 and it felt more powerful. The 7.3 did get better mpg though. My 6.0 did have the bulletproof oil-cooler and egr, stock everything else and stock tune. Overall, I'd love to have another late model 6.0 truck but most of them are beat to hell and tuned. With these drivetrains, you have to work them. They're much livelier and and seen happier when they're worked. I did an 15hr tow in my 7.3 and afterwards it seemed like it ran way better. Same with my 6.0 after a 8hr tow + mountains.

I have a handful of PDFs (somewhere) that I can provide on the 6.0 and just about any job you could do to it. I also highly recommend checking out DieselRon (RIP, gone too soon) on YouTube. They're actually a treat to work and fix up right. Grab FORScan for a laptop and you can even do things like run injectors tests and all that fun stuff.

Managed to get a 6-speed, dually back to life, and that thing was super fun to drive, really wanted to keep it but it needed so much cosmetic love, and it had no interior after someone hacked in an interior from a later F150 King Ranch that looked like it came out of a truck that was in a major accident.

In reply to 03Panther :

The scangauge has to be programmed to read all the 6.0 computer outputs, other than the standard OBD2 protocols. It doesn't require a computer or anything special, just some codes you program into the gauge itself so it can talk to the 6.0 computer. Here's what it can do on a 6.0 engine along with the codes for specific readings. I didn't program everything into mine, only what I needed. 
 

https://www.scangauge.com/x-gauge-commands/6-0l-diesel/

In reply to buzzboy :

The truck has given me wildly radical mpg numbers from similar driving, so I doubt I'll get a good compare...

This is only 6.0 I've actually driven, and everyone that has been in it is impressed at how smooth quiet and powerful it is over their 6.0, 7.3 or any older light duty truck (yes, a 350 is a light duty. 450 is medium duty, etc.)

Looking online, the power pup is now discontinued, but I can tell ya the tow tune in it is even smoother, quieter, and more powerful. 
I did use Extreme for a while yesterday. Wow, that's fast! And it's a very mild tune compared to custom. What a beast! About stock noise levels, and not as smooth as tow. 
Definatly not what I need, though!

In reply to yupididit :

I would not have bought this truck, except for knowing its original owner. He worked it, like a truck should be, but took great care of all his stuff. 
Very blessed to have gotten the deal I did. 

In reply to Azryael :

Love to see the pdf stuff of ya come across it. 
is there a way to get Forscan on my laptop without spending a fortune? I just ordered a obd2 dongle, so I'll have that. 

In reply to WillG80 :

Thanks. Was just surfing their site!

My display is wonky, so ya gotta guess at a few corners. 
Truck and sg2 did not even shake hands, so I have no clue how to fat finger the buttons to get em talking. 
with 3 out now, I probably won't buy a new 2. And 3 is getting expensive enough to look into other options. 
All info is good though, so y'all keep it coming. 
I love all the folks on this forum!!!!

I have an 05 F350 and I've been pretty happy with it. I did just replace the turbo because it was exhibiting some signs of vgt trouble.  
 

there is an upgraded oil drain tube that would be good to put on if you're going that route.

They also benefit greatly from a thorough cooling system flush. There's a few different steps to do it right and installing fumoto valves on the drains in the engine block really helps. 
 

I think it major causes problems in these motors is the sand that comes out of the block as a coolant goes through it overtime. A coolant Filter kit is super beneficial

In reply to jfryjfry :

How long have you had yours? Mine is a SRW FX4 extend cab, in monochrome red, with the black leather interior, and a bit of faux carbon fiber accents. Both front seats have a worn bolsters, and a couple tears, but otherwise look good. With the seatbelt in the seat back, it limits future options, but I couldn't afford anything atm anyway!

Debris in coolant is a huge issue, but the bypass filters done remove enough to be worth the cost, and the only (that I know of) has some negitive as well. A flush is always good, and mine is definitely due!

In reply to 03Panther :

I spent like 12 bucks for the forscan license on my laptop. Its worth it, especially since you can do all the diagnostic test snd module testing. Can do some from your phone with Forscan lite too.

In reply to yupididit :

Oh heck yea. That's a several thousand less than I'd expect. I'll look that up. 

Catching up on deferred maint. today. Have both rear doors apart to fix the cables. Only needed this for a year! Got the bottoms done. Once ya figure out releasing tha catch, with no cable, and have doors open, it's quite easy. 

03Panther said:

In reply to buzzboy :

The truck has given me wildly radical mpg numbers from similar driving, so I doubt I'll get a good compare...

This is only 6.0 I've actually driven, and everyone that has been in it is impressed at how smooth quiet and powerful it is over their 6.0, 7.3 or any older light duty truck (yes, a 350 is a light duty. 450 is medium duty, etc.)

Looking online, the power pup is now discontinued, but I can tell ya the tow tune in it is even smoother, quieter, and more powerful. 
I did use Extreme for a while yesterday. Wow, that's fast! And it's a very mild tune compared to custom. What a beast! About stock noise levels, and not as smooth as tow. 
Definatly not what I need, though!

Quieter than a 7.3 isn't hard to believe.  I've never heard a 7.3 that wasn't just retarded loud.  The early ones with the single-shot injectors are even worse.